Giovanni, 27, is the son of Pastor Mervin and Mrs. Rosilee Herbert. He has three sisters and a brother. A past student of the then BVI (now Elmore Stoutt) High School, he is proud to have just celebrated his 10 year anniversary with the most recent graduates of the school. “Graduating, I was the school’s head boy,” he beamed.

Gio recalled several affiliations in early 2000 when he formed part of a group which represented the Virgin Islands National Youth Council at Youths in Parliament in Grenada at a Commonwealth Youth Programme forum to discuss The Rights of the Child. A month later, in August of that year, he was off to Alaska along with another local youth to represent the National Parks Trust, joining young people from all over the world to carry out community service projects, such as building and refurbishing a baseball field fence, several playgrounds and a community centre.

In the Spring of 2001, Giovanni left home to further his education at Prince Georges Community College in Maryland, USA. But he always harboured a dream to join the Marines. Having somewhat later on given up on that dream and settling into school, he was surprised when a recruiter called him up and by the Fall, he was enlisted into the US Marine Corps. “I always wanted to be in the military, I always wanted to do this since I was small watching all those Chuck Norris and Rambo movies, jumping over my cousins’ couches….”

He reminisced that he had really given up on the dream, but he went to the recruiters’ depot and saw other guys there already motivated and getting ready to go on tour. Being a young man and perhaps somewhat naïve, not thinking about the dangers of war, Gio became excited himself. He thought if he didn’t like it, he would just come out. His mother was in disbelief but told him to pursue his dream; while his father was more contemplative, asking him whether he was sure this is what he wanted to do, but quickly throwing his support behind his son.

So Giovanni enlisted in the US Marines in June 2001, went to boot camp in October of that year and after twelve weeks of boot camp, received the Eagle, Globe and Anchor, the Marine Corps emblem, which meant that he graduated to become a Marine. “After graduating, I was sent to combat training for the next eight weeks and from there I was sent to 29 Palms, California for 6 weeks to learn my job as a field radio operator. This involved the handling of encrypted information over the radio and putting up antennas,” he explained.

In May 2002, he was stationed at Camp Pendleton, which is the Marine Corps Base in Oceanside, California, where he would spend the duration of his military career. Eight months later, he was told to get ready to go to Iraq. “On base, they started showing Vietnam movies, we had to undergo vigorous work-outs, we started exercising with weapons and did survival and combat training. Then I did my power of attorney making sure everything was covered in case of death, and I was ready to go.”

Gio was quite nonchalant about this episode in his life; in fact he did not think this strange. As far as he saw it, he was already away from home and it wasn’t just him, but everybody he worked with just being displaced to another location. He was among familiar faces.

Gio’s team went to Kuwait at the end of January 2003 to join other teams to make the 16-hour drive in a Humvee into Iraq. During the drive to their final destination in Iraq, Gio’s convoy was attacked as insurgents fired at them, but thankfully there were no injuries.

While in Iraq, where he spent nine months, Gio performed his communication duties. Returning to base, he spent a mere two months before returning on his second tour to Iraq, this time to be in more of a combat situation. He would spend another six months in the war-torn country.

During his time in the marines, Gio attended leadership training/corporal course and thought of re-enlisting, but had a change of heart and was honourably discharged after four years in the United States Marine Corps.

While in the United States Marine Corps, Gio received several awards:

1. Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal - for expeditiously putting down secure and sensitive cables for communication, as well as supplying over 200 marines with their mail in a combative environment.
2. Combat Action Ribbon
3. Navy Presidential Unit Citation - given for extraordinary heroism in action against an armed enemy. His unit accomplished its mission under extremely difficult and hazardous conditions to set it apart from and above other units participating in the same campaign.
4. Navy Meritorious Unit Commendation - whilst on recruiting duty leave, the unit that he was TAD(temporarily assigned duty) to, surpassed their quota
5. Marine Corps Good Conduct Medal
6. National Defense Service Medal
7. Iraq Campaign Medal
8. Global War on Terrorism (Expeditionary)
9. Global War on Terrorism (Service)
10. Navy Sea Service Deployment (2 awards)

Continuing his education after leaving the marines, Giovanni completed his degree in English with a minor in Business Management at the Harford Community College in Maryland. Whilst studying, he was employed with Sprint at Belair, Maryland, starting out as a sales person but rising to Senior Communications Consultant and Assistant Manager at another location in Baltimore, Maryland – both for three years full time – a student and employee.

The big move, well, all of the moves so far have been big moves, but the “big” move came in September 2008 when he moved back home to the Virgin Islands. “I just wanted to check out what home was offering,” he said.

Within a month of being home, he landed a job at Digicel BVI as Dealer Channel Executive. He is still employed at the company, but now in the capacity as Corporate Sales Executive. “In this position, I would go out and make proposals to customers and help them to find new ways to save on the telecommunications service and basically bring technology with savings to businesses and individuals,” he said.

But so far, all of this about Giovanni M. S. Herbert has all been very official – education, the marines, work…

What does he do for fun? “Well, I’m a part of the BVI Powerlifting Team, I drum at church when I get a chance, I am a movie fiend, and I spend a lot of quality time with my family.”

Where does he see himself in five years? “I would like to be a little bit more involved in what happens in our community, whether it be in terms of the youths, possibly having my own radio show as opposed to just helping out my father on occasions, and of course married with the first child on the way.”

Gio has been back home for about two years and has been contemplating seriously his role in the further development of his homeland. He has a passion for the youth and wants to be able to provide advice to them on how to live a more positive life and achieve more out of life.

He credits several persons for how he was raised, including his parents, his grandmother – Pastor Inez Brathwaite, who was a teacher, principal, teacher, nurse – and former BVI High School Principal Elmore Stoutt. “I am a product of how I was raised,” he said, “these people have affected me and this is how I would like to be mentioned by other young people being interviewed on VINO a few years down the road, with them being able to say that I also had a positive effect on them.”

Gio’s pet peeve? “I don’t believe that BVIslanders are patriotic enough. I don’t know if it’s because we’re not a militant society, or because we were enslaved, but it smacks of disrespect to me for example when we don’t stand up when the Premier arrives or enters a room.”

He also wants to see the Virgin Islands moving swiftly to identify or document what the Territory’s traditions and customs are. “We don’t really have a specific thing that identifies us. What is it about the people of Tortola, what is it about BVIslanders, what separates us that speaks loudly to say this is what BVIslanders are about. And if there is anything, is there a sense of pride that comes with it. Do we sing the national anthem in schools, do parents have BVI flags in their homes as you see other island natives have their flags in cars, on their phones etc. Where is our sense of patriotism? Where is the flag at ports of entry etc.”

Look out for this Young Professional, as he seeks to further make his mark in the Virgin Islands and indeed the wider world.